Congratulations & welcome to the Cornell family! Four years ago today, I was in your shoes and received the most important news of my young adult life — and I made the right choice. I hope you do, too.

Oh, but I hope your day turns out to be less embarrassing than mine: I received the news in the morning, went to school super psyched about the whole thing, and at the end of the day, I walked into my crowded high school parking lot to find . . . my car had morphed into something new. It had become a hybrid of sorts: it was all at once a Volkswagen Jetta, a Cornell Spirit Mobile. . . and a mortifying display of my mother’s pride.

On the windshield: a giant posterboard with the words “YAYA CORNELL!” written in gigantic letters (visible from space). On the door handles and mirrors: red and white streamers. And the piece de resistance? Roughly 50 packs of Big Red cinnamon gum taped all over the car’s exterior. It was cute, but I sincerely hope none of your parents did this to any of you.